Senate Asks Bush for Iraq War-Cost Estimates (by resolution, 61-31) [View All]

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate urged the Bush administration on Monday to plan better for the costs of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of relying on a series of stop-gap spending bills.

By a lopsided vote of 61-31, senators approved a non-binding resolution calling on President Bush to submit projected war costs in the U.S. budget plan he submits to Congress each February.

Twenty-one Republicans joined Democrats in voting for the resolution as an amendment to a bill that would provide $81 billion in "emergency" funds to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Senate amendment was offered by Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, who has been a vocal critic of the Iraq war and its costs. Byrd's measure, which was approved with little debate, also would urge Bush to submit to Congress short-term cost estimates for existing military operations by Sept. 1

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/04/18/senate_asks_bush_for_iraq_war_cost_estimates/